ALLENTOWN, Pa.- Allentown City Council will hold a public hearing this week on a zoning ordinance amendment that sets parameters for data center development.
But those specific guidelines, should they be approved, would not apply to a project that’s already on the table.
The applicant, identified as Langan Engineering, has submitted a plan to convert an existing warehouse at 2401 W. Emaus Ave. into a data center.
The site is in southern Allentown, north of I-78, not far from the Salisbury Township line. It’s across the street from the nonprofit Camelot for Children. There are also several standalone homes and an apartment complex nearby.
The 224,000 square-foot warehouse currently does not have a tenant. The application seeks to put a 23,342 square-foot addition on the property.
WFMZ-TV | Amy Unger
On Wednesday, June 3, Allentown City Council will hear public testimony ahead of a scheduled vote on Bill 20, which amends chapter 660 of the city’s zoning ordinance to define and regulate data center use.
The amendment, introduced in March, establishes data centers as special-use exceptions in the manufacturing and industry group.
The city will evaluate each proposal on a case-by-case basis according to regulations that dictate everything from how close the centers can be to existing homes and businesses, to the aesthetics of the property, to how the centers must prove they can be sustained by energy and water / sewer infrastructure.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) reviewed the amendment in April and found that it “both aligns with best practices for regulating data centers and contains opportunities to improve the ordinance to support public health, safety and welfare.”
The LVPC did offer some recommendations, including adding requirements for on-site power generation and establishing more stringent noise regulations.
Warehouse at 2401 W. Emaus Ave.
WFMZ-TV | Amy Unger
The public hearing on the zoning ordinance amendment begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, ahead of city council’s regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. inside council chambers at 435 Hamilton Street in Allentown.
The data center plans for 2401 W. Emaus Ave. will be reviewed by the Allentown Planning Commission on Tuesday, June 9, during its meeting at 12:15 p.m., which will also be held inside council chambers.
Jennifer Gomez, Allentown’s Director of Planning and Zoning, told 69 News the plans were submitted prior to the advertisement of the data center ordinance, and so will be reviewed against the prior zoning ordinance.